


The Wolf and the Fairy Princess

by MaraMcGregor



Series: Werewolf Mythologies [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Backstory, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Young Cora, Young Peter Hale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-30
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2018-01-21 10:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1547189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaraMcGregor/pseuds/MaraMcGregor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The second part in the Werewolf Mythologies series. Talia and her husband, Eric, are out for date night. Peter is left alone to watch Cora. Talia is a manipulative older sister and sets Peter up for a rough night watching Cora.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wolf and the Fairy Princess

Peter was horrified. His sister _actually_ intended to leave him with babysitting duty. She even gave him strict instructions to tell her three children a _story_. The injustice of it all made his stomach twist into knots. Glaring with all of his might at Talia, he argued, “Laura is in Eighth Grade. She is more than capable of making sure the other two don’t kill themselves.”

Talia said nothing, just smirked at him.

Huffing in frustration, he crossed his arms over his chest. “And what if I have plans?”

Talia’s smirk grew. “Oh? And what plans would those be?”

Peter’s lips twisted. While he did have plans, he couldn’t actually confess to them. She already knew he had a thing for a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. While that was all well and good, she wouldn’t be so content to leave it alone if she knew the boy was Chris Argent. Boys were fine; hunters were not. “That’s not the point.”

“I do believe it is the point.”

Seeing his argument going nowhere, Peter resigned himself to calling Chris after Talia and her husband left. With some luck, he may have a chance to sneak out later. Clenching his hands around his biceps, he gritted out, “Fine. I’ll watch them and make sure there’s a house still standing.”

“Thank you, Peter.”

He grunted and turned to go back up the stairs, grumbling about the unfairness of having a sister so much older.

Talia huffed, trying to stop herself from laughing. Small hands gripped her shirt. The alpha looked down at her youngest daughter who had decided to accessorize with a tiara and purple fairy wings. Getting a wicked idea, Talia bent down to speak with her daughter. She leaned in and whispered quietly into Cora’s ear. “Sweetie, why don’t you ask Peter to share the story of the Wolf and the Fairy Princess with you?”

Cora’s eyes lit up. She started bouncing in place, still holding on to her mother’s shirt. “Can I?!”

Talia nodded.

“Yay!” Cora zoomed off and began hopping around the living room.

Talia’s husband wrapped his arm around her waist. “You are completely evil.”

The alpha hummed in agreement. “Let’s get out of here.”

The pair turned and left Peter with their three children. In all honesty, they were more worried about Peter surviving.

Ten minutes after Talia and Eric had left for date night, Derek and Laura tumbled down the stairs. Peter was right on their heels. “Where do you think you are going?”

“Out,” Derek stated.

Peter crossed his arms the moment he reached the bottom of the stairs. “Oh no, you’re not. I’m supposed to be watching the three of you tonight.”

Laura snorted. “Have fun with Cora, Peter. We’re going to be late to the 7:30 showing of The Faculty.”

“Really? You’re sneaking out to watch that? What about The Big Lebowski?”

Laura rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You have the weirdest sense of humor.”

Peter just stood there, watching as they hopped on their bikes and sped off to the movies. Huffing, he turned his head and saw Cora bouncing on the sofa cushions. He supposed he should stop her; but, if she fell, she would just heal.

Cora ran over to her uncle, her tiara askew and hair wisps sticking out to the sides. One wing was higher than the other and the silver tinsel around the edges was starting to fray and fall off. “Momma said you were going to tell me a story.”

Peter barely held back a sneer. At least he got to choose the story. He was hoping to have a larger audience for the story of the ninth True Alpha, but beggars can’t be choosers. “Yes, after dinner I’ll tell you the story of -”

“NO! I wanna hear the story of the Wolf and the Fairy Princess, now!”

“The … what?!”

“The Wolf and the Fairy Princess! Momma said you knew it.”

Peter was going to kill his sister. Of course, she would derail his plans in the most embarrassing way possible. He had no intention of _ever_ speaking or acknowledging that catastrophe again. “That’s not really a part of the histories that you are supposed to be learning.”  
  
“But Momma said you would tell it to me!” Cora was getting progressively more upset. She stomped her right foot, making her tiara tip even more precariously to one side.

“And Talia isn’t here.”

“You can’t do that. She’s your alpha and you have to do what she says,” Cora stated with all the certainty of a five year old.

Peter struggled to reason with his determined niece. “It’s not a history -”

“It’s a fairytale?” Cora asked with excitement.

“No. It’s too recent to be considered history and not important enough to be told . . . or remembered.”

“Do you know who it’s about?!” Cora’s face lit up in glee at the idea of a real life fairytale.

“You could say that.” Peter had no intention of claiming the story for himself. His eyebrow raised and a smirk danced across his lips. He could however lay it on someone else’s shoulders and he always delighted in embarrassing his older brother. “You know him too,” he lilted.

“I do?”

“You do. It’s my brother, your Uncle Ralph.” Peter looked around the living room. If he was going to do this, he was going to do this right. Calmly, he strode over to the couch and settled in. Cora sat cross-legged on the rug in front of him.

Peter cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders. “It all started on a beautiful summer day. All the leaves were green and the sky was a deep cerulean blue.”

“What’s ce – ceru – cerulean?”

Peter sniffed indignantly. “Pay attention or I won’t tell you the story.”

Cora’s bottom lip trembled.

“It’s a type of blue. I’m sure it’s in your crayon box. Now, hush.” Peter took an exaggerated breath and began again. “Your Uncle Ralph decided that it was too nice of a day to waste indoors and decided to go exploring. He ran and tumbled through the Preserve without thinking about where he was going or how long he had been gone. After a while, he crossed into the deeper forests to the north.”

Cora gasped and covered her mouth with tiny hands. “We aren’t supposed to go there.”

Peter nodded. “Quite right. And Ralph found out the hard way. The forest there is older, the trees more ancient. Everything felt different, like the very air could speak. He traveled on a little ways more, but soon had to stop because thick fog started rolling in. He tried to turn back, but he wasn’t able to figure out which direction he was going. He was quickly lost. Getting more and more panicked, he howled for the pack, hoping to hear them and guide his way home. But, there was something strange about this forest. The pack couldn’t hear him and he couldn’t hear them calling for him.”

Cora’s eyes grew wide. She leaned forward, completely enthralled.

“A ringing bell-like sound echoed around him. The mist parted and revealed a beautiful woman with hair that looked like spun glass. She laughed the more Ralph panicked. ‘Hush now, little wolf. You seem to be quite far from home,’ she said. Her voice was musical and soft. It captured his attention and enchanted him. The more she spoke, the more he wanted to stay with her and never leave her side.

“Slowly, she drew him further and further into the fog and farther from the pack. ‘You would like to stay with me, wouldn’t you?’

“Ralph nodded, completely enchanted by the beautiful woman.

“‘What would you do to be able to live here with me?’

“‘Anything,’ he replied.

“Her eyes gleamed with power. They looked like stars taken straight from the night sky on a new moon. Before he could say anything more, she waved her hand and he felt himself shrinking further and further until he was surrounded by his clothes in a puddle around him. He tried to protest, but found that all that came out was a high-pitched bark. She had turned him into a wolf pup.”

“A real wolf? Like Momma?” Cora asked, breathless in awe.

Peter nodded. “Exactly.”

“Wow. What happened? Did Momma find him?”

He looked at his niece, staring directly into her eyes. Peter let the silence settle and draw out, causing Cora to shift from side to side. When her anxiety started to peak he started in, voice velvety and smooth. “It took three days for the pack to locate him. The fairy had drawn Ralph completely under her spell and he did not answer, even when the fog had lifted and the howls clearly traveled through the forest. The pack worked together and found him by scent. Because he was a full wolf, his pack scent was stronger than it normally would have been. When Talia and the rest found the fairy and Ralph, they demanded him back.

“But the fairy had the upper hand. ‘The treaty made between our peoples clearly states that any that wander onto our lands belong to us. As I am the princess and will succeed my mother; that means that he belongs to me.’

“Talia protested. She argued that he was young and did not know about the treaty. But, the fairy princess would not be swayed. She demanded a favor in return for returning the pup to his pack. She did not specify what the favor would be and refused to allow constraints on the rule. The pack left with the pup, in debt for an undetermined amount of time with an undetermined price. But, there is no real price that can be put on the value of pack.”

“What did they have to do?”

Peter shook his head. “The debt hasn’t been called in yet. At some point, it will be called in. Fairies never forget a debt.”

Cora’s jaw dropped. “We still owe the fairies?”

“We do.”

Staring intently at her uncle, she asked, “Did the fairy turn him back before they left?”

Peter fought down a blush. “No. He remained a wolf pup until the next full moon. Nothing the pack did could force a shift. Even Talia roaring did nothing. He remained a pup for three whole weeks. Talia felt so bad for him for being stuck as a puppy for so long, that she didn’t punish him further.”

Cora sat still, silently contemplating the story. Peter was rather proud of himself. He avoided implicating himself and successfully wove the tale to his hyperactive niece. The girl stood up and patted her skirt down. With a serious expression, she solemnly stated, “You can be the wolf.”

“What?” Peter startled. He had no idea how she had seen through his subterfuge. She was only five and had no idea how to detect deception.

Cora scrunched her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “You want to play the fairy princess instead?”

Peter nearly sighed in relief. Then his brain caught up with what his niece was asking. “No. I am not playing a fairy princess.”

“So, you’ll be the wolf?”

“No! I’m not playing anything. I am going to make you dinner and you are going to eat it, get cleaned up and go to bed. In that order.”

Cora crossed her arms over her chest and glared with all her might at her uncle. “Don’t be a meanie.”

Throwing his hands in the air, Peter gave in. “Fine. I’ll be the fairy princess.” He utterly refused to be the wolf in this . . . again.

Before he could blink, Cora ripped her tiara off of her head and settled it on top of Peter’s. “Do you want the wings too?”

Voice slightly pinched, Peter stated, “No, she didn’t have wings.”

“Okay,” Cora chirped. She flung her wings across the room and shifted as far as she could, eyes glowing gold and small fangs appearing.

An hour later, the front door opened. Talia and Eric decided to come back early and rescue Peter. They were certain that they would find four miserable werewolves sulking in their bedrooms. Instead, they felt like they had fallen into an alternate universe. Staying as silent as they could, they watched the scene unfold.

Peter was standing on the coffee table, tiara prominently displayed and waving a stick. Cora was running in circles on all fours barking and partially shifted.

“You’re supposed to be a pup, not a Tasmanian devil.”

“But, Uncle Peter . . .”  
  
“Ah, ah! That’s Your Highness to you.”

Cora giggled. “Yes, Your Highness.”

“Much better. Now, let’s see if you can act like a proper wolf pup.”

Talia couldn’t stand it any longer. She held her stomach as she burst out into hysterical laughter. Eric wasn’t any help in calming her down. He joined in the laughter, holding on to his wife to prevent from losing his balance.

Peter slowly turned to face his sister and brother-in-law. Horrified that he had been caught, he slid the stick portraying a wand behind his back. He refused to stand there and allow them the upper hand. “Well, it looks like your parents are back. Maybe they will tell you the story of how they discovered they were going to have Derek.” With that sharp remark, Peter exited up the stairs and closed the door to his room. It was still relatively early. Hopefully, he could arrange a late night meeting with Chris and salvage what little remained of his dignity.

Cora beamed at her parents. “What happened when you found out about Derek?”

Her parents cringed. “Maybe some other time, Sweetie. Let’s get you dinner and you can tell us all about the evening.”

“Okay!” Cora bounded into the kitchen, ready for dinner. But, she never forgot the promise of a good story. Just like fairies never forget a debt.


End file.
